Chapter 6, The Mass Media

STUDY

PLAY

Cultural anthropologist Natasha Dow Schull's term the zone—a disassociated subjective state marked by a suspension of normative parameters—is created by which of the following?

digital technologies

College sophomore Greg Hogan Jr. held up a bank for a little over $2,800 in cash due to his being lost in the zone through which type of online activity?

online gambling

Which of the following terms is used by sociologists to refer to print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread audiences?

mass media

The term "screen time" refers to the amount of time people spend

all of these

To sociologists, which of the following is a major concern regarding the mass media and social policy?

the effects of the media on social institutionsthe ownership of media operationsthe effects of the media on social behaviorall of these

What term do we use to refer to the flow of content across multiple media and the accompanying migration of media audiences?

cultural convergence

What percentage of Americans are off the modern information network, or "off the net?"

15 percent

What percentage of Americans consume information goods and services at a high rate and use these technologies as platforms for participation and self-expression, or "omnivores?"

8 percent

Which sociological perspective would likely contend that the role of the mass media is to provide socialization, enforce social norms through public events, and create social stability and cohesion through collective experiences?

functionalist perspective

Which of the following would be an example of cyberbullying?

all of these

Which sociologist purported that newspapers helped to socialize immigrants to the customs and culture of the U.S.?

Robert Park

Sociologist Robert Park studied

how newspapers helped immigrants to the U.S. adjust to their environments and taught them the customs and opinions of people in their new home country

Which of the following would the functionalist perspective most likely view as creating the greatest collective experience?

the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001

What were the primary media vehicles by which people bonded in the U.S. during, and in the aftermath of, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?

television and phones

Communities developing around common interests or shared identities that are emerging online is referred to in the text as

tribalism.

Which of the following is considered one way the media reaffirm proper behavior in society?

movie and TV scenes showing criminals getting caught by authorities

Which of the following would have the greatest impact in terms of reaffirming social norms of proper behavior?

watching a televised execution of a mass murderer

Which of the following media events would most likely glorify disapproved behaviors?

all of these

Which sociological perspective would be most likely to focus on the functions of the mass media in conferring status on people, organizations, and public issues?

functionalist perspective

People, organizations, and public issues appearing regularly on the covers of prominent magazines is a method used to

confer status

According to the text, which of the following musicians has received the most amount of status from Rolling Stone magazine due to the number of times they've appeared on the its cover?

Paul McCartney

Which of the following politicians has appeared on the cover of Time magazine most often, resulting in a degree of status being conferred upon him?

Richard Nixon

The function of media advertising is to support the economy, provide information about products, and underwrite media costs associated with

promotion of consumption

Which of the following is a socially constructed entity?

all of these

Which nation has the largest number of the top 100 worldwide brands?

U.S.

A dysfunction of media promotion of product consumption would be

increasing awareness of environmental issues.

Which of the following terms refers to the phenomenon whereby massive amounts of coverage result in the audience becoming numb and failing to act on the information regardless of how compelling the issue was presented?

narcotizing dysfunction

Which of the following have sociologists suggested is a dysfunction of the mass media?

having a narcotizing effect

People ignoring credible warnings about terrorist attacks due to the massive amounts of coverage in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 are an example of

the narcotizing dysfunction.

If someone failed to contribute money because massive amounts of media coverage made him or her less sensitive to the needs of victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, this would be an example of

the narcotizing effect

Which sociologist(s) first identified the effects of viewer fatigue and created the term "narcotizing dysfunction?"

Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton

Which of the following statements is not correct?

The narcotizing dysfunction of the media was discovered in the 1980s after the deluge of cable news programming.

Which sociological perspective(s) would be most likely to emphasize that the mass media exacerbate many divisions in our society, including those based on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class?

conflict and feminist perspectives

The process by which a relatively small number of people control what eventually reaches the audience is referred to as

gatekeeping

A major network news agency that discourages reporting of issues concerning homosexuality is most likely practicing

gatekeeping.

George is the executive producer of a small recording company with an established label. He rejects a popular local band because it competes with a group already on their label. He functions as a

gatekeeper.

According to a study done for the World Bank, who owns the largest percentage of television and radio stations in 97 countries?

governments

Which medium experiences the least amount of gatekeeping?

the Internet

Which sociological perspective(s) would be most likely to focus on gatekeeping as a process that reflects a desire to maximize profits by those with power and authority?

conflict perspective

Which items did eBay refuse to allow people to sell on the Internet following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?

World Trade Center debris

The term "media monitoring" is used most often to refer to

interest groups' monitoring of content....

The U.S. government was heavily criticized for which of the following media monitoring behaviors after the September 11th attacks?

authorizing wiretaps of U.S. citizens' telephone conversations...

Worldwide, low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and the citizens of developing countries have far less access than others to the latest technologies. This gap is referred to as the

...digital divide.

In Africa, only 4 percent of the population has Internet access; they typically pay how much per month for their connection?

$250 to $300 a month

What is the term used to describe the set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests?

the dominant ideology

Which sociological perspective(s) would be most likely to support the idea that a dominant ideology is created through media images and is used to construct a reality based on protecting the interests of the powerful?

conflict perspective

Realistic portrayals of minorities and working-class persons tend to be ignored by mass media decision-makers primarily because

most decisions are made overwhelmingly by wealthy White males.

The creation of unreliable generalizations that distort the reality of persons, groups, and cultures is indicative of

stereotyping

Which of the following would be a common way for television to create stereotypes?

portraying women as sleek and thinportraying young minority males as drug dealers and criminalsportraying members of the lower class as uneducated and lazyall of these

In the U.S., one out of every four women is considered obese. How many characters are portrayed as obese on television?

3 out of 100

There is very little representation of the racial diversity of the U.S. on television, even though _____ percent of all youths in the U.S. are children of color.

45

How many primetime series out of nearly sixty—aired in recent years—did researchers find focused on minority performers?

2

The U.S. is a major player in the global media domain. However, other nations play a role in creating a dominant ideology as evidenced by the popularity of ___________, which originated in Sweden.

Survivor

Which sociological perspective is most likely to be concerned with television distorting gender roles and stereotyping, which is often rooted in the media's willingness to promote more traditional views?

feminist perspective

Which of the following statements concerning media portrayal of gender roles would the feminist perspective most likely endorse?

Women are often portrayed as being in need of rescue by males.

According to a 2004 content analysis of sports broadcasts on network television, what percentage was devoted to male sports events?

92 percent

The popular ESPN Sports Center program devotes what percentage of air time to women's sports?

2 percent

A continuing, troubling issue for feminists is pornography and its effects on women, as evidenced by a 2002 health survey which revealed that

According to data collected in 2009 concerning the use of the Internet

women are more likely to use email to maintain friendship networks.

Which sociological perspective is more likely to study the media's influence on society from the microlevel to determine how social behavior is shaped?

interactionist perspective

Which sociological perspective would most likely be concerned with manipulation of "photo ops" to create an image of self-serving reality?

interactionist perspective

Fans of the TV show Star Trek (known as Trekkies) meet in costume at a convention celebrating the anniversary of the show's conception. Which sociological perspective would be most likely to focus attention on this event?

interactionist perspective

According to the Schaefer text, even if an audience is spread out over a wide geographic area and the members do not know one another, they will be somewhat distinctive in terms of

general interest.age, gender, income, political party, formal schooling, and race and ethnicity.the size of the grouping.none of these

Specialized targeting of audiences is to some degree driven by

advertising.

A person who influences the opinions and decisions of others through day-to-day personal contact and communication is referred to as a (an)

opinion leader

Which sociologist pioneered research on opinion leaders

Paul Lazarsfeld

Sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld

pioneered the study of opinion leaders in his research on voting behavior in the 1940s.

Which sociologist studied the social composition of audiences to explain how an audience interprets news coverage?

Darnell Hunt

In his study of the social composition of audiences, which of the following characteristics did sociologist Darnell Hunt suggest would be most likely to affect the interpretation of news coverage?

race

Which aspect of Darnell Hunt's research on audiences was somewhat unique, particularly in regard to his analysis and interpretation of the data?

He went beyond noting racial differences in perceptions, and analyzed how they were manifested.

According to Darnell Hunt's research on audiences, which viewers were less animated when watching a 17-minute film clip of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles?

Whites

Who predicted over 45 years ago that the rise of the electronic media would create a "global village," thereby reducing the barriers created by physical distance?

Marshall McLuhan

Which metaphor for the media's reach does sociologist Todd Gitlin consider more apt than "global village?"

global torrent

Al Jazeera is

an Arabic-language news network.

What did the U.S. State Department do in 2004 to counter the impact of Al Jazeera's television influence in the Middle East?

It established the satellite network Al Hurra

When a media conglomerate makes, markets, distributes, and manipulates most aspects of a popular movie, this is an example of

...

The merger of media giants such as AOL and Time Warner, along with the network holdings of Walt Disney, are all prime examples of

global selection

What is the significance of a 2003 ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that was discussed in the text?

all of these

Cross-promotion by media giants is illustrated by the release of which movie in 2003 that was heavily promoted by CNN and Time magazine—both part of the Time Warner empire?

The Matrix Reloaded

Schaefer notes that ____________ is (are) a significant exception to the centralization and concentration of the media.

...

Disney is a good example of a multinational media corporation who represents today's market concentration and consolidation. They own 16 television channels which reach